Clan terminology
This is a collection of terms used by the Clan cats in their talk. Just as we humans have sayings, the Clan cats have idioms, too, although theirs relate to things found in the world of the Clan cats. General Terms * Blood-beat - A heartbeat detected in a prey item. *'Crowfood' or crow-food – A dead prey animal that has begun to rot; can also be used as an insult (see below). *'Cutter' – A veterinarian, specifically, though not always, referring to one that spays or neuters cats. *'Dirt' - A cat's waste. *'Fresh-kill' – A recently killed prey animal caught for the purpose of consumption. Fresh-kill is hunted by warriors and apprentices, and placed on the fresh-kill pile or brought to the elder. Elders, kits, queens, and sick cats eat first, then, warriors and apprentices. Extras stay in the fresh-kill pile. * Fourtrees - A place located in the old Clans, where the territory's corners would meet, in which four oaks stood and the Clans would gather in peace every full moon. *'Gathering' – The monthly meeting of all the Clans when the moon is full, at either Fourtrees or the Island. There is a truce on this night, and no fighting is allowed *'Greenleaf Twolegplace' – A place frequented by Twolegs during summer, such as a resort or camping spot near the lake *'Halfbridge' – A boat dock; term was first used by Squirrelflight when Brambleclaw's patrol was exploring the new territory in Starlight. *'Horseplace' – A horse ranch or stables. *'Hunting Patrol' – A group of cats hunting for fresh-kill to bring back for their Clan to eat. *'Kittypet' – A domesticated pet cat. *'Loner' – A cat that lives by itself and doesn't defend its territory. *'Making Dirt' - Equal to going to the bathroom for a human *'Monster' – A vehicle operated by humans. Some examples include cars, trucks, tractors, and ATVs. Motorboats are sometimes referred to as "water-monsters" *'Moonpool' – The place near the Lake where medicine cats and leaders share tongues with StarClan *'Moonstone' – The place in the Forest where medicine cats and leaders shared tongues with StarClan *'Mothermouth' - The opening to the cave where the Moonstone is/was located *'Rogue' – A usually hostile cat who does not have a permanent home, roams around, and does not care about crossing Clan boundaries *'Sharing Tongues' – Cats grooming each other while sharing the latest gossip. A cat lies on the ground, talking, while the other grooms their fur, listening *'She-cat' - A female cat *'Silver boulder' - A boulder that, when the silver disc is pulled off, holds two-leg rubbish. To Two-legs, they are just trash cans. *'Silverpelt' – The large swath of stars in the sky (believed in fandom to be the Milky Way). These stars are a direct representation of StarClan *'Snowmelt' - A term used to describe slush or dirty, melted snow *'Soft boulder' - A pillow or cushion *'Sun-drown-place' - An ocean to the west of the Clans' territories *'Tree-eater' – A bulldozer *'Thunderpath' – A paved road with an extremely acrid smell that cars often go across Windover Road separated ThunderClan and ShadowClan in the Forest Territories *'Tom/Tomcat' - A male cat *'Twoleg' – A human *'Twoleg kit' – A human child *'Twoleg nest' – A human's house *'Twolegplace' – A town, city, or village where Twolegs live Time Terms *'Newleaf' - The season of spring *'Greenleaf' - The season of summer *'Leaf-fall' - The season of autumn or fall *'Leaf-bare' - The season of winter *'Moon' - The time between one full moon and the next, spanning around 29 days *'Moonhigh' - When the moon is the highest in the sky; about midnight *'Moonrise' - The time when the moon rises *'Half-Moon' - About two weeks, half a month *'Quarter-Moon' - About a week *'Sunhigh' - The point during the day when the sun is highest in the sky; noon *'Sunrise' - One day in cat time (i.e. One sunrise ago) *'Season' - A quarter of a year in cat time. Four seasons equal a year *'Heartbeat'- A split second Distance Terms *'Fox-length' - About the length of a fox; approximately a yard *'Kittenstep' - About the length of kit's step; approximately a inch or a half inch *'Kit-hop' - How far a kit can hop, about an inch and a half *'Tail-length' - About the length of a cat's tail; approximately a foot *'Rabbit hop' - About a foot and a half away (Also referred to as a rabbit length) *'Mouse-tail' - About an inch *'Mouse-length' - About two or three inches *'Pawprint' - About the length of a cat's paw; approximately three and a half inches *'Pawstep' - About the length of a cat's step, roughly six inches *'Tree-length' - About the length of a tree; around 40 to 50 feet. Insults, Exclamations, & Phrases *'As much use as a dead fox'- A (harsh) insult meaning the recipient is useless, Leopardstar describes Darkstripe with this insult *'Bees in your brain' - An exclamation meaning a confused or a cat not making sense (i.e. You've got bees in your brain!) *'Crowfood' - A (harsh) insult comparing the recipient to rotting prey animals (as in I'll turn you into crowfood!), or suggesting that they eat it (as in crowfood-eater) *'(You're) crazier than a fox in a fit!' - An insult used when a cat (or cats) are acting crazy. Another variation uses "madder" instead of "crazier". Lionblaze uses this to describe Ashfur. *'Doesn't matter a whisker '- An exclamation meaning the cat does not care, (i.e. it didn't matter a whisker that she didn't share their beliefs) similar to I don't give a mousetail *'Dormouse' - An expression or exclamation used against a cat who sleeps a lot. Foxpaw is called this by Sandstorm in Eclipse. *''' like LionClan/TigerClan''' - An expression stating that a cat does something very fiercely or well *'Fishface', fishfur or fish-breath - An insult used against RiverClan warriors, mainly appears in Bluestar's Prophecy *'Fox-dung' - A (harsh) insult comparing the recipient to fox feces. Also used as an exclamation (as in That's fox-dung!) *'Fox-hearted' - An insult meaning cruel, cold-hearted, or evil (as in fox-hearted Twolegs). *'Great StarClan!' - An exclamation used to signify extreme surprise or anger. Similar to Oh my God! in usage and to the fact that they both have mention of a higher force *'Hedgehogs will fly' - An exclamation style statement that shows disbelief that a certain event will likely occur (as in That will happen when hedgehogs fly), used in many variations. Somewhat like the human phrase When pigs fly! *'How in Silverpelt! - '''An exclamation used meaning "How in the world?" Used in The Sight. *'I don't give a mousetail''' - An exclamation meaning that the cat does not care. Another variation is I would ____ for a couple of mousetails meaning that they are willing to do the inserted action for no real reward *'Make dirt' - To use the bathroom. *'Fluff-Brain' - An insult used to tell someone that they aren't understanding things. *'Mouse-brain' - A (friendly-harsh) insult. Severity of the insult is almost always decided by tone. *'Mouse-dung' - A (somewhat harsh) insult comparing the recipient to mouse feces. Also used as an exclamation (as in Mousedung! That can't be right!). Somewhat like "Darn it!" *'Mouse-hearted' - An insult that describes one who is cowardly. *'Once a kittypet, always a kittypet!' - A harsh phrase used to describe a cat with kittypet roots *'(Only) StarClan knows (what)' - Sometimes used to answer a question that is impossible to answer. Similar to "Only God knows what", ""Only God knows", and "God knows." *'Sorry catches no prey' or Sorry fills no bellies - Means cats can be sorry, but that will not undo what happened *'StarClan's kits!' – An exclamation of surprise or disbelief. Sometimes used as an exclamation if a cat is hurt. *'What in StarClan's name?'- A exclamation similar to "What on earth?" or "What in the world?" *'Furball' - A friendly or harsh insult for a cat (as in stupid furball, bossy furball or lazy furball) *'Thundercat' - used to describe a ThunderClan cat. Used in Night Whispers *'You fight like a kittypet!' - An expression used to insult or tease a cat who fights poorly. *'You hunt like a kittypet!' - An expression used to insult or tease a cat who hunts poorly. Living Spaces *'Camp' - The place where a Clan makes their permanent home. *'Leader's Den' - The den in camp that belongs to the Clan leader. *'Medicine Cat's Den' - The den in camp that belongs to the Clan's medicine cat and his or her apprentice. Sometimes referred to as the Medicine Den *'Warriors' Den' - The den in camp that is shared between the warriors of that Clan *'Apprentices' Den' - The den in camp that is shared between the apprentices of that Clan *'Elders' Den' - The den in camp that is shared between the elders of that Clan *'Nursery' - The den in camp that is shared by the queens and kits of that Clan *'Dirtplace' – The place near the camp where cats go to urinate or excrete. *'Fresh-kill pile' – The place, usually in the center of the camp, where the warriors drop the prey they caught while hunting, so it is easily accessible to all the cats in the Clan Clan Ranks *'Kit' - A kitten younger than six moons *'Apprentice' - A cat at least six moons old, and training to be a warrior (or a medicine cat) *'Warrior' - A mature cat who has completed his or her warrior training. A she-cat is considered a warrior when she is not currently expecting or nursing a tom's kittens. *'Mentor' - A warrior who is currently training an apprentice *'Queen' - A she-cat with kits to take care of or who is pregnant with kits, or stays in the nursery helping other queens even though they have no kits. (i.e. Daisy, Ferncloud) *'Elder' - Cats who cannot hunt or fight anymore, sometimes due to injury (Stonepelt), loss of sight (Longtail), sickness (Heavystep) or are just too old to do their warrior duties. They are treated with great respect in the Clan. *'Medicine Cat' - A cat who heals injuries, who is skilled with herbs, leaves and natural cures and sometimes receives special signs or prophecies from StarClan. *'Deputy' - A warrior who is second in command to the leader, helping him or her in their tasks and replacing them after their death or resignment. They organize patrols and make reports to the leader, and are known to be frequently given apprentices. *'Leader' - A cat who controls the entire Clan. Holding the most important rank in the Clan, a leader is granted nine lives by StarClan so they "can be first in every battle and last to take a piece of fresh-kill" basically giving them extra time to serve and lead their Clan See Also *General Tribe Terminology References and Citations Category:Reference Category:Clan Life